Firearm.



J. H. BURNAMAN.

FIREARM.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 21. 1915.

Patented Apr. 25, 1916.

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JOSEPH H. BURNAMAN', OF BEAUMONT, TEXAS.

FIREARM.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Apr. 25, 1916.

Application filed July 21, 1915. Serial No. 41,142.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, JOSEPH H. BURNA- MAN, a citizen of the United States, residing at Beaumont, in the county of Jefferson and State of Texas, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Firearms; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

Hy invention relates to firearms, and more particularly to guns having interchangeable barrels.

My object is to furnish a means whereby a gun may be changed from a shot gun to a rifle at the pleasure of the user, one stock and loading mechanism being used for both shotgun and rifle barrels.

In the accompanying drawings which are made a part of this application, Figure 1 1s a central, longitudinal, sectional view of the front end of a shot gun stock and the breech end of a rifle barrel showing the manner of connecting the two parts, Fig. 2 is a longitudinal, central, sectional view of the breech end of a rifle barrel showing the barrel chamber and shoulders, Fig. 3 is a longitudinal, central, sectional view of a detachable firing chamber, Fig. 4 is a rear or butt View of Fig. 3, and Fig. 5 is a view of the front or muzzle end of Fig. 3.

In the detailed description of the drawings, figures will be used to designate the various parts, the same figure indicating the same part throughout the different views.

In attaining the object of my invention, a shotgun is used in which loaded shells are operated through a magazine, to repeat the firing of the gun. The front end of the stock thereof is shown at 1, the barrel being connected to the stock by screw threads as at 2 or by other means, according to the different makes of shotguns. When it is desired to convert the shotgun into a rifle the barrel is removed from the stock and a rifle barrel 3 having screw threads 4 at the breech end thereof, or other means adapted to the make of shotgun used, is inserted in the stock of the shotgun 1 in lieu of the shot gun barrel, said rifle barrel being made identical with the shot gun barrel as to means for attaching to said stock. The said rifle barrel has a tapered chamber 5 at the breech end thereof into which is inserted a detachable firing chamber 6 from the magazine of the gun, said firing chamber carrying a rifle cartridge. The rifle barrel at the outer end of the chamber 5, is formed with an annular shoulder 5, forming an abutment for the end of the firing chamber 6. The said firing chamber 6 constitutes the means which enables the user of the gun to operate the rifle cartridges through the loading mechanism intended for and adapted to the use of shotgun shells by increasing the size of the rifle cartridges to that of shotgun shells. The firing chamber 6 fits snugly into the tapering chamber 5 and carries the rifle cartridge 7. The rim 8 of the firing chamber 6 is of the same diameter as the rim of a shotgun shell, so that it can be operated by the automatic loading device connected with the magazine of the shotgun stock.

In construction the firing chamber 6 is made longer than the rifle cartridges to be used, so that the end thereof projects beyond the bullet 10 carried by the cartridge for the purpose of protecting it from being damaged in any way while being manipulated by the loading mechanism. The firing chamber 6 fits the tapered chamber 5. This tapered shape prevents the use of a shotgun shell by mistake, as the size of the shell at its front end would prevent the shell from entering the tapered chamber 5 far enough to be exploded, thus preventing an accident arising from using a shotgun shell with a rifle barrel. The said firing chamber is provided with a rim 8 at its rear end whereby it is extracted from the barrel by the shell extractor of the shotgun in the same manner that a shell is extracted. By providing the chamber 5 with an annular abutment, it is obvious that the firing chamber will not bind in the barrel, as would be the case if a tapering firing chamber was inserted into a tapering chamber without an abutment. Where the chamber is not provided with an abutment, a firing chamber is liable to jam, requiring the reaming of the same from the chamber, a dangerous as well as expensive and diflicult operation, especially the former if the bullet contained in the firing chamber could not be extracted prior to the reaming operation. Perforations 9 are provided on opposite sides adjacent the rear end of the firing chamber slanting downwardly and rearwardly to provide a means for removing the cartridge from the firing chamber, when it is desired to do so, by pushing a wire through the said perforations and engaging the rim of the cartridge. The cartridge may thus be removed from the firing chamber without injury to the bullet of the cartridge.

In operation, when it is desired to convert a shotgun into a rifle, the barrel is removed from the shotgun and the rifle barrel is substituted therefor. The magazine is then filled with the detachable firing chambers in place of shells, each firing chamber being filled with a rifle cartridge. The gun is then operated as usual when serving as a shotgun.

It will thus be seen that by the use of the firing chambers and a rifle barrel of my design, a sportsman can have both a shotgun and a rifle at his disposal at a slight advance in cost, and yet will use the same stock at all times, and have the same grip, drop, trigger action, etc., with either gun. These are points that will be appreciated by sportsmen who know that change of guns means a change in these items, which will cause a difference in the1r shooting.

Believing that the construction, advantages and manner of using my invention have thus been made clearly apparent, further description is deemed unnecessary.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

The combination with a magazine loading shotgun, having a stock formed with an interiorly threaded outer end, of a rifle barrel having an exteriorly threaded inner end adapted for screw-threaded engagement with said stock, said rifle barrel formed with a tapered chamber having an annular shoulder at the outer end forming an abutment, and a tapered firing chamber adapted to be fed into said chamber from said magazine and having its outer end seated on said abutment, said firing member formed with solid walls completely incasing the bullet carried thereby.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

V JOSEPH I-I. BURNAMAN. Witnesses EMMA DU Bose, W. C. DU Bose.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents. Washington, D. O. 

